Jennifer Coyne Qudeen: inspiration

Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Why is it that a blank slate can be so darned intimidating? That first mark is so difficult to make? I've been sitting here, fingers poised on the keyboard, looking at the computer screen and trying in vain to figure out what to say in my first post...oh...for the past 10 minutes at least.

Lots of things have gone through my mind. Like I knew at 8 yrs old that my dream was to be an artist. That I grew up with a mom and grandmother who quilted, sewed, crocheted, cross stitched, etc. That I still have all the Barbi clothes that my mom and aunt sewed - including sequined gowns! That growing up surrounded by fiber, fabric, color, texture and craftsmanship ensured my love of craft and all that it entails. Is it any wonder that I became a fiber artist?

I currently find myself at a crossroads in my creative life.

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That last line from my first ever blog post back on January 10, 2010 gave me a good chuckle this morning. Is there ever truly a time in an artist's life when we don't feel that at some sort of crossroads creatively? There may be moments of surity, yet how fleeting are they? Or is it only me? For 9 years later, that sentence still applies.

I've been absent from the blogging world most of the last 2 years. A bit of the sabbatical can be attributed to the ease of Instagram, but the real reason was a confluence of events and topography that left me in a deep depression beginning in October 2016.


Waiting = Stitching, red circle #7, 2017, Jennifer Coyne Qudeen

All I seemed capable of for months was sitting on the couch, watching tv and hand stitching red circles.

A black hole had engulfed me and it took a literal change of scenery -

a family vacation to Whistler, British Columbia -

to jostle me out of the hole...or at least close enough to the rim that I could begin to figure out how to get out completely.

I'm still a work in process...and most likely will be for quite a while. One realization has been that I am not only a person who loves open spaces and abundant sunlight, but am one who needs them to be happy and thrive.

So I get myself out of the house more often, taking this big guy for walks,

enjoying the view at Wilton Library while doing administrative type work,

meeting friends for lunch or chatting on the phone,

and watching my daughters ski. Ellie took first place this past weekend in the first race of the season. She's the cutie on the left. We're looking forward to the day that both our girls are on the podium. There's another race this Sunday...

A new year brings new attitides, new beginnings, new plans and new possibilities.
Here's wishing you all a very creative, inspiring and joyful 2019.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Mushrooms

This morning, while removing the mushrooms growing by the front porch, in hopes of doing so before our pup discovers them and deems them interesting enough to taste

(because my mushroom knowledge is woefully lacking and I have no idea if these are harmful or not),

I once again paused to wonder...

I am the only one who looks at the underside of mushrooms

and see pages upon pages of books

just waiting to be read?

And an umbrella every now and then?

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Friday in New York

Last Friday morning found me boarding the train to venture into New York to spend the day with the amazing Lotta Helleberg. After grabbing a cup of coffee, we began strolling through Chelsea.

Kwang Young Chun at Kim Foster Gallery

Our first stop was Kim Foster Gallery. As you walk through the door, Kwang Young Chun's work of wrapped and bound mulberry paper offers a quiet greeting.

Kwang Young Chun at Kim Foster Gallery, detail

To me, the triangular pieces wrapped in mulberry paper are basic units of information, the basic cells of a life that only exists in art, as well as in individual social events or historical facts. By attaching these pieces one by one to a two-dimensional surface, I wanted to express how basic units of information can both create harmony and conflict. This became an important milestone in my long artistic journey to express the troubles of a modern man who is driven to a devastated life by materialism, endless competition, conflict, and destruction. After almost twenty years, I was now able to communicate with my own gestures and words. Kwang Young Chun artist statement via website

Kwang Young Chun at Kim Foster Gallery, detail

Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery

A spot of color around the corner caught my eye and provided a surprise when I stepped

Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery, detail

closer for a good look at Christian Faur's work with crayons.

Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery, detail

My earliest memories of making art involve the use of wax crayons. I can still remember the pleasure of opening a new box of crayons: the distinct smell of the wax, the beautifully colored tips, everything still perfect and unused. Using the first crayon from a new box always gave me a slight pain. Through a novel technique that I have developed, I again find myself working with the familiar form of the crayon.

Because of the three-dimensional nature of the crayons, the individual surface images appear to change form as one moves about the gallery space. The images completely disappear when viewed from close up, allowing one to read the horizontally sequenced crayon text and to take in the beautifully colored crayon tips -- all the while being reminded of that first box of crayons. Christian Faur via website


Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery

Christian Faur at Kim Foster Gallery, detail

Ambling on down the street, a flash of red in the back of a gallery catch our attention. One look at each other as if to ask "Do you want to go in?" was all it took

John McCracken at David Zwirner

for us to enter David Zwirner gallery in order to get a closer look at John McCracken's simple, yet exquisite sculptures.

My works are minimal and reduced, but also maximal. I try to make them concise, clear statements in three-dimensional form, and also to take them to a breathtaking level of beauty. –John McCracken via David Zwirner website

Minds and imaginations reeling, we made one more gallery stop (which requires a post of its own) before

enjoying a leisurely lunch at Cookshop. It was the first that either of us had eaten there, but certainly won't be the last.

If you follow Lotta on Instagram, you've seen shots of her mark making journal. Well, this is it! Not only was I lucky enough to see it, but to get to meander through its pages as well. It is a work of art in itself.

And so are Lotta's mended jeans. She was working on these when we met in DC back in December so it fun was to see them being worn. Makes me consider mending my over-worn jeans rather than cutting them up to become my journal covers.

Our last stop was the wonderland that is ABC Home. These handmade paper wrapped bundles are just one of the examples of the treasures this store holds.

All too soon, it was time for Lotta and I to go our separate ways. The return train ride provided a bit of time to reflect on the day's art; to consider why it was the more seemingly simple pieces that held me spellbound. There's an idea beginning to form. It needs time to percolate first, but it's there. And that's good.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Permission to Play

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching a mark making workshop, entitled Permission to Play, at Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch's OPENstudio in Lexington, Kentucky October 4-7, 2017.

Come and try your hand at my favorite mark making techniques at the beginning of the week

and round it out with Lorie McCown as she guides you through the process of telling your story with cloth.

It's sure to be a fun-filled, highly creative, art packed 7 days. For more information, just click here.
Hope to see you in Kentucky next October!

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Fiberart International 2016 - part 3

Part 3 in my series of posts of the art works exhibited in Fiberart International 2016 features the last works that I photographed at the Society for Contemporary Craft. This part of the exhibition continues through August 21.

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